Don't be too scared
by bqsjmmf
Summary: It all started with a conversation between Sakura and Hinata where feelings were admitted...
1. Chapter 1

**I do NOT own Naruto...**

Chapter 1: Coversations

Hinata and Sakura are talking at a secluded corner.

* * *

"It wasn't love. It was more like hope. He was everything I hope I'd be, everything I wish to become. He wanted the same things that I wanted… to be strong, to be accepted, and to be loved... But it wasn't love I feel for him, at least not the romantic kind. I didn't love him Sakura." 

Hinata stopped looking at Naruto as he conversed with Lee and directed her eyes to Sakura.

"Don't be scared. He's Naruto. He's not going to hurt you, at least not intentionally. He loves you so much. He's different than most guys. He's worth the risk Sakura… don't be too scared."

"What?" Sakura asked her, shock written all over her face. Hinata smiled at her.

"There's no point hiding it, it's clearly seen on your face."

She pointed out to her pink haired friend.

"Hinata…"

"Haven't you been listening? I love him as a friend, nothing more nothing less."

Sakura gave up trying to hide what she feels from her friend. She sighed then asked.

"How did you know?" Sakura softly whispered.

"Like I said, it's very obvious." Hianata answered, the smile on her lips growing wider.

"He asked me out." Sakura told her.

"Really? What did you say?" Hinata said excitedly, but then she frowned at her friend.

"Please tell me you didn't say no."

"I didn't say no, but I didn't say yes either."

Sakura answered her, hesitation evident in her eyes. Hinata sighed.

"Do you have any idea how lucky you are? You have found someone who loves you and whom you love in return. Still you deny yourself the chance to be happy. Don't waste your time being scared, not everyone can be as lucky as you are…"

Though Hinata tried to stop herself, her eyes wandered to Neji, the she sighed. A sigh that's full of sadness.

"Naruto, he's there for you. Not because he has to but because he wants to…" Hinata said sadly.

As if sensing that someone is looking at him, Neji raised his eyes and saw that someone is indeed looking at him. His cousin, Hinata, is looking at him. He raised his eyebrows asking her what's wrong, Hinata only smiled at him then shook her head telling him that nothing's wrong. She turned to face her friend again this time seeing the sadness in Sakura's eyes. Hinata took her hand, gave it a soft squeeze and smiled sadly.

"Its ok. I'm ok. Please don't be sad because of this."

Sakura looked at her, not really believing that she's ok. Still she smiled and told her that she wasn't going to tell anyone.

"Please think about what I said." Hinata whispered.

Sakura looked at her. After knowing what Hinata really feels, she can now see the sadness that she's trying to hide. She wondered to herself why she didn't see it before. She wondered if anyone has noticed it at all.

"Ok, I'll think about it…" Sakura said slowly, as Hinata smiled.

"But you have to promise me that you'd do something about making yourself happy, ok?"

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked her

"You have to at least tell Neji what you feel"

Sakura was smiling now, especially when she saw the look of astonishment on Hinata's face.

"WHAT? Are you crazy?" Hinata said loudly, thus drawing attention to them.

"Hey, what's going on with you two?" Naruto asked, curious as to why Hinata raised her voice.

Sakura told Naruto (rudely) to mind his own business then turned her attention back to Hinata.

"Now, you don't have to do anything but answer questions. Because knowing Neji, he's going to ask questions later." She told Hinata, grinning for the first time that day.

Hinata looked at her cousin, she sighed knowing that he is going to ask questions later and not really sure if she can continue to hide what she really feels anymore.

Putting the conversation at the back of their minds, they walked towards their friends.

After an hour of bickering (Lee and Naruto mostly) and small talk the group decided to part. Lee and Tenten, and Neji and Hinata went to their respective training grounds while Naruto said that he's going to walk Sakura to the hospital. After the goodbyes have been said, they promised to see each other when they all have some free time.

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What do you think? 


	2. Chapter 2

I do NOT own Naruto...

Sorry for the late update...

Those in italics are Neji's thoughts.

* * *

They walked in silence, both of them absorbed in their own thoughts. 

_Naruto asked Sakura out._

He still couldn't believe the news he heard from Tenten.  
He knows that Naruto likes Sakura, and it is only a matter of time before he asks her.  
But what he didn't expect was that Sakura might actually consider going out with Naruto.

_Maybe that was what they were talking about earlier.  
Maybe Sakura told her._

_She looks sad, is it because Naruto asked Sakura out, or is because Sakura didn't say no?_

_I wonder what she's thinking.  
I know that I could just ask her, but I want her to tell me without me asking the question.  
I want her to confide in me, the way she confides to her friends.  
I want her to trust me.  
I want to be her friend._

Neji stopped walking.  
He chuckled to himself.

_Who am I kidding? Yes, I want her to trust me, but I want to be more than just her friend._

_Tenten noticed, eventually other people will notice it too.  
But she won't notice.  
She's too busy thinking about Naruto to notice.  
She's too occupied looking at him to see me._

He sighed, thinking about his unrequited love for his cousin, then he resumed walking behind her.

_I had hoped that her infatuation for Naruto will pass.But I guess I was wrong._

_She wouldn't be as sad as she is now if she doesn't feel that strongly about him._

He continued watching her, not really forgetting that the possibility of Naruto and Sakura being a couple cause her pain.

_I wish it had been another girl.  
Someone who will feel the same way about me.  
Someone who is not pining for someone else._

_But somehow I don't think it's possible for me to feel this way for anyone but her._

_I love her._

Finally he admitted it to himself.

_But she doesn't love me.  
Not as I love her._

He closed his eyes as pain filled his heart.

He knows that he should stop thinking about her.

But he couldn't make himself stop.

After a few minutes he made his decision.

He slowly opened his eyes.

_I won't wait for her to tell me, I'll ask her now._

_I know that it will hurt me more, but I want to hear her say those words._

_I want to hear her say that her heart will belong to him, and only to him._

_Maybe hearing those words will numb my pain._

_Maybe it will make me stop loving her._

"Hinata…" he started, determination clearly seen in his eyes.

_If it doesn't numb my pain or make my feelings for her stop, I'll just try to comfort her._

_I'll try to be there for her._

_It's the least I can do for her._

_And it may be what she is willing to accept from me. _

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What do you think? 


	3. Chapter 3

I do NOT own Naruto...

Sorry for the late update...

Those in italics are Hinata's thoughts.

* * *

"Hinata…" 

_He's going to ask me._

_What am I going to do?_

_It's not like I can tell him…_

Hinata turned around and looked at her cousin.

She sighed.

She knows that look on his face.

It's a look that clearly states that he wants to know something and he is not going to stop until he is satisfied with the answer.

_I can't tell him._

_What if he never speaks to me again?_

_What we have right now may not be much, but at least there's something._

_Though there isn't a 'we'…but still…he's by my side._

_Even if he's only by my side because it's his duty to protect me._

Neji looked at his cousin.

He frowned.

Apparently he is not the only one with the habit of talking to himself.

He watched as Hinata continued to have a discussion with herself.

Despite of the pain that he is feeling, he smiled.

He smiled because he can look at her without her asking him why he is looking at her.

Because of that his mood lightens.

Despite of the pain, he felt happy just watching her.

He's so happy that he almost forgot that he wants to hear her say the words that may numb him or make his feelings go away.

He **almost** forgot.

_Right now, I really wish that I could lie to him._

_But he'll know._

_He always knows when I'm lying._

She sighed.

He smiled.

He is going to get his answer.

Hinata can't lie to him.

And she finally realized that.

* * *

What do you think? 


	4. Chapter 4

This is it, the final chapter! Sorry for the delay. Thanks for reading!

**I dont own Naruto**

* * *

"Naruto asked Sakura out on a date and it looks like she is going to say yes."

Hinata looked at Neji, hoping that that is what he wants to know but knowing at the same time that he already knows that and what he really wants to know is her feelings about it. His words only confirmed her thoughts.

"I know, Tenten told me" he said, he looked in her eyes silently asking her to go on with what she has to say without saying the words. Hinata sighed, knowing that she really has no other option but to tell him. She knows that she is only delaying the inevitable but she can't stop herself from doing so.

"What do you want to know Neji? I'm not a mind reader, you should tell me what it is you want to know."

Neji raised his eyebrows, a bit amused by his cousin's reaction.

"How do you feel about it?" he asked bluntly.

_"This is it. He asked the questions that would seal my fate. Would I lose him in the end?"_ Hinata wondered to herself.

"Honestly, I'm happy for them. Naruto and Sakura deserved to be happy, and if being together makes them happy, then its fine with me." she paused

"I know that it may be hard to believe, but I really am happy for them. It doesn't bother me at all." She smiled at him, reassuring him that she really is fine.

"I thought you love him." he said simply, not really sure if he should believe her.

"I thought so too." she said softly, she looked away from him so that he would not see the longing in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" he was really curious now.

_"If Hinata is not in love with Naruto anymore, then it is possible that she is in love with somebody else. But if that's the case, how could I possibly miss it? I'm with her all the time. Or maybe she's not in love with anyone..."_ he went back to reality when he heard Hinata speak.

"I thought I love him. Then I realized that it wasn't really love. I admire him and I care for him, he's my friend after all but it wasn't love." Hinata said sadly

"If you are not saddened by the news of Naruto and Sakura going out, then what are you so sad about?" Neji asked her.

Shock was written all over Hinata's face after she heard her cousin's question. She was really shock because she thought that she was hiding her emotions well.

"_If he noticed my sadness… I wonder… did he notice my feelings for him too?"_she asked herself

"Don't even bother saying that your not sad Hinata" he said to her, when he noticed that her facial expression changed

"I wasn't going to deny it, I'm just wondering what else you noticed" she answered him

Now it was Neji's turn to be surprise.

"_What is there notice? She has been acting differently lately, but I thought it was because of Naruto… but she said she doesn't love him… then that means…"_

"You are in love with someone else" He stated flatly. When he looked at her face, he saw the answer. She _is_ in love with somebody else. Now the question is: who is he?

"Who is he?" Neji asked, before he can stop himself from asking.

"_I told Sakura that she shouldn't be too scared, now its time to practice what I preach. I just hope that whatever it is we have right now wont be ruined by what I'm about to say"_ she said to herself, preparing for, possibly, one of the hardest thing she'll ever have to do in her life.

"You" she said simply. She looked at him, not hiding the emotions that she really feels, before courage fails her she added "I thought that what I felt for Naruto was love, but I was wrong. I didn't love him like I thought I did. I love him as a friend, but that's it. It's you, it has always been you. I love you Neji. I guess I always have, but I didn't really know that it was love. I thought that love means being nervous around that person. I thought it was about the rapid beating of your heart when that person is near. Never in a million years would I have thought that love can mean being comfortable around that person, being able to say what's on your mind without fear of judgement, and being accepted after being seen for who you really are." She felt tears flowing from her eyes. She didn't feel sad, actually she felt relived, like a heavy load was taken from her shoulders.

Neji looked at her, he couldn't say anything. He couldn't believe that she loves him too so he just looked at her. He was too shock to speak.

"I know that you don't feel the same for me, but please Neji don't act differently around me. Let's still be friends. " she said to him, asking him not to cut the ties that they now have.

"_He cant even speak to him. He is that revolted with the thought of being with me."_ Hinata couldn't stand the silence so she started walking away from Neji.

Finally, Neji managed to completely process what was going on, so he followed Hinata. When he caught up with her, he told her what he really feels.

"Hinata, how could I not possibly feel the same about you? I love you. I always have." He said simply.

She could see and feel the sincerity of his words. She was too happy to speak; she couldn't believe that he actually felt the same.

She smiled as she looked at him.

"_Finally, I can be happy. We can be happy… together"_ Hinata happily said to herself.


End file.
